Electric brakes on Scamp 16 loose?

[DougOlson]

Hi all, I just installed a breakaway switch on my 2015 Scamp 16 and noticed that the wheel rotates 6-8" after the brakes are applied before they catch and stop the wheel. That seems quite odd to me, like something is quite loose inside the brakes letting the pads slide around a ways before they stop the wheel. That also explains a behavior I noticed at stop signs that the trailer brakes seem to cause the TV to jerk a bit at the point of stopping & starting. We are heading out on a coast to coast round trip in 10 days so really want to get this fixed if a problem. I will call Scamp on Monday but figured I would get some good advice here before then. Thx.

[Dan Meyer]

I don't believe what you describe is abnormal, due to how electric brakes function.

Electric brakes are dependent upon the rotation of the brake drum to engage the brake shoes. This is why it takes 6-8 inches to cause the brakes to engage on your trailer.

If you want or need a more detailed explanation, just ask!

--Dan Meyer

[DougOlson]

Great, thanks for the quick reply. I sure do like this FGRV community & forum.

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[Carol H]

The electric brakes do need to be adjusted. I usually do the ones on mine ones a year at the same time bearings are repacked. If you go online you will find videos on how to do it.

As far as the trailer being jumpy when stopping that may require a bit more adjustment of your brake controller set up.

[DougOlson]

Thanks. I checked with Scamp recently about adjusting the brakes and they recommend adjusting every two years. I was wondering because the brakes did not seem to be applying as much force as they used to. When checking things out while installing the breakaway switch I noticed that the ground wire from the left side brake had come loose. The screw holding the terminal to the frame had broken. I replaced that screw and now the brakes stop as strongly as they used to.

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[DougOlson]

Well, I found out what was wrong with the brakes. I took off the hubs to repack the bearings & look at the brakes. The right side brake had missing or broken magnet spring so the brake would engage only intermittently. Also had excessive tire wear on right. Somewhere also the brake wire on right broke, came disconnected from the butt connector. I like Scamp but I would not mind if they had a little better quality control.
After 10K+ miles I our recent 2 month 12K mile trip the right brake on the Scamp would lock up at low speed. Had an interesting cloud of smoke behind the trailer pulling out of a rest area in eastern Wyoming. Since the Scamp is not too heavy for the Nissan V6 TV I just turned the elec brakes off until we got home to CA and I could check them out. Now I just need to find replacement brake magnet kits for it. Waiting on reply from Backus.

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[Eddie Longest]

Doug
Next time under the trailer check out the tag on the axle and let us know who made it.
Lippert, Dexter, or Alko.
Thanks
Eddie

[Joe Romas]

Originally Posted by Eddie Longest

Doug
Next time under the trailer check out the tag on the axle and let us know who made it.
Lippert, Dexter, or Alko.
Thanks
Eddie

If it's a 10" x 2 1/4" 3500# Dexter complete Dexter brand brake backing plates are reasonably priced at $31.31 here or non Dexter brand for $.
https://trailerparts.com/dexter-elec...FVglgQod_cQGHQ

Joe

[DougOlson]

I looked at the axle but unfortunately the label has been painted over. However, I got in touch with Micah at Scamp and he is sending a new magnet spring to me. I did not get an answer on the make/model however. Anyway the problem should get fixed soon. Thanks for your comments.